Today I read of a medical doctor in Zimbabwe who closed a box of surgical needles after an operation on a small child. One wasn't lying flat, and it pierced the box, and his glove and went into his thumb. A simple little accident, you may think? Not so. The matron of that hospital had been flown home, sick, and was discovered to be HIV positive. She was a midwife, and it was thought some infected blood had splashed into her eye. One of the other nurses also decided to return to England.

The doctor is married, with two small children. Should he go back home to a 'safe' job?

He ended his story with these words: 'I don't pretend to have all the answers or fully to understand why such things happen but I have concluded that whatever happens we should follow God. If I leave, it should be because God has called me elsewhere, not because of fear.'

Lord, the way is sometimes hard. It is costly to follow you. But that's a small price to pay, when I think of the price paid in blood for my saving. Amen.